Wrath of the Dragon God
by AvatarofDeath13
Summary: Story takes place right after Yugi defeats Kaiba in the Battle City Semifinals. Kaiba reacts strangely to his loss and starts a chain reaction, leading to the release of a power that may even dwarf the Egyptian Gods. Seto/?/?/?, Small Harem, No Yaoi
1. Chapter 1

XOXOXOXOXOHOXOXOXOXOX

I have no comment to respond to how long I have gone and remained inactive, I can only state that I have had issue with my life that drew my immediate attention, and thus was unable to update or create any new works.

But I've been slowly freeing up my time, and while I can't make any guarantees that I'll get back into the same groove I had before, I will say that I will not abandon my works, nor will I go off on another hiatus without at least warning you, my readers.

Anyways, this is yet another story that has been sitting in the back of my head, and it's a story within our favorite Anime/Manga that revolves around a real-life card game: Yu-Gi-Oh!

This story's protagonist is none other than the arch nemesis of the main character [Yugi Mouto, for all those who can't remember] of the original series, Seto Kaiba.

The idea for this story came up after watching the second season of the anime all the way to the conclusion of the filler arc known as Waking the Dragons. I saw Seto Kaiba's reaction to his loss against his rival, and it suddenly hit me that his reaction to that critical part of the story would make a good start for a different fanfic of my own.

It will follow similarly to the actual storyline, following directly from Kaiba's loss, except there will be a bunch of differences and alternate outcomes to the same conclusions, and not all of them will necessarily revolve around Kaiba alone.

There will also be some AU elements of the story, as a word of warning, because for some of the parts of my story to make sense there has to be some things that happened in this story that did not actually happen in the canon storyline.

Most of all, there will be a small harem for our blue-eyed breaker of rules and hoarder of money, it will be composed of three different women, and I won't immediately come out and say who, expect that none of them are completely one hundred percent OC (I'll leave it to you to figure out and speculate as to what that might mean), except that they will have ties to Seto's past in both the normal and the Yugioh-esque definition of the past.

The harem is already decided, and it isn't for the purpose of inflating Seto's already oversized ego (there should be some way of sucking away arrogance with liposuction or something, he could really use it!), rather it's to present an even greater conflict as well as to explain the roots of Kaiba's journey into darkness. If you don't like the idea of a harem, or you're one of those fangirls that wants a yaoi pairing, go jump in a giant blender (in the case of the yaoi fangirl, I'll even offer to toss you in myself), because when I stamp my foot down on something, it's practically the law.

The initial chapter is somewhat short, because…

1: I am currently trying to work on several fan-fictional works at the same time, and would have an easier time making updates if they were reduced in size. I mean, do you really expect me to be able to upload two to five new ten-thousand word chapters to my stories every week, especially considering the strained schedule that I have to work under?

2. I'd like to see what you think of it before I move on, after all the more attention and the more reviews I get, the greater inspiration and drive I possess and thus the greater the frequency of my updates become.

3. I still have to hash out some plot-bunnies, and I'd rather not have to endlessly edit and re-edit all of my works. That's a bitch and a half, and it's something I would prefer to avoid if I could.

Anyways, enjoy what I have for now, I'll be posting up a few one-shots within the week, so hold out as much as you can, because I reward those whom are patient and loyal. So place your bets and watch the fourth wall… collapse.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, nor the characters of Yugioh, and I deny any right to that which is the property of the Yugioh anime/manga/trading card game, they are the properties of their respective owners/creators, and I claim nothing other than the usage of the words in this story that are not copyrighted in the order that pertains to this story.

Private Disclaimer: I do not claim any right to pay for the insurmountable damages caused by my unmatched works, if someone suffers any injury or illness as a result of reading my godly works, I am not liable for any of them, no exceptions. By reading this awesome story of uber pwnage, you agree to do so at your own risk and not my ass's risk, and thus forfeit any right to sue my aforementioned ass for something completely out of my control as you seek to further your evil plans towards world domination by oppressing the world's population of lovable ferrets, you sick bastard….

Once again reader, you have been warned.

P.S. This message will now annihilate itself with it's anti-message counterpart. You have ten seconds to evacuate the vicinity, and if you fail to do so… too bad! :D

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It… was impossible, it simply couldn't be real, it had to be a nightmare as there was no way this could be real… there was simple no way that he, Seto Kaiba, could have lost to his arch nemesis in the semi-finals of the Battle City Tournament…. His tournament. The whole tournament was set up for Seto to be able to do what he had always promised he would do: win, win back the title he so rightfully deserved, the title that had been stripped from him along with his pride and his dignity, to claim the role as World Champion and King of Games, but even as he stood there, the harsh touch of reality came crashing down on Seto Kaiba.

Seto Kaiba… had lost, again.

To the one person whom made Seto's blood boil and brought his mind to the brink of insanity, to him…

Yugi Mouto.

Even as Seto stood there in silent shock, the short duelist with tri-colored hair was talking to his friends, to the groupies that always seemed to follow Yugi around, each of them praising him and inflating the magic-obsessed duelist's already deluded ego. Hell… even that bastard mutt was offering his congratulations to the victor, and he had been hanging on the edge of life and death for the love of Kami!

Seto had taken no small amount of satisfaction in seeing the blonde-haired Wheeler reduced to a comatose figure on a bed, he had engorged himself on the look of despair that the moron's state had on his group of friends, particularly Yugi's… as anything that might mess up Yugi's game was only another of a long line of advantages that Seto held over the undeserved winner.

Yet… here he stood, beaten and broken, a martyr of the God's in their quest to maintain the supremacy of the still-current King of Games, having been denied what was by all means his position in the finals, and his Egyptian God Card.

Obelisk…

With a sudden revolting shock, Seto Kaiba now realized that, because he had lost, he was now required to surrender his most valuable card to the winner of their duel… he had to hand over his God Card, Obelisk the Tormentor, to that blasted midget… just like Ishizu had predated.

The mere thought of that woman suddenly broke Seto's trance, and brought forth a howling fury the likes of which he had never experienced before.

'_That conniving witch!'_, Seto thought with no small amount of bitter contempt, and to think he had actually gone out with the woman, seen her as a possible love interest… if - and this was something Seto couldn't even fathom to believe, that he might think possible - she had been able to see the future, wouldn't she have known what Seto might have felt for her? Didn't she think him important enough to warn him that this might happen, that this might be the outcome of this duel that had been rigged in the favor of that fool whom believed in such a stupid ideology as the Heart of the Cards?

Did Ishizu even care? At any moment when they had gone out and talked on their dates, did she even once imagine that Seto would lie here, weak and defeated, a mere shell of what he once was?

'_Of course… she's more than likely in love with that midget… just like the other two… just like they were…'_, once again Seto answered to himself, thinking over just how pathetic he really was, _'This is the third time I've opened my heart to a girl, only for it to be denied…'_

…and for Seto, it would be the last.

Not even aware that his eyes had slightly changed, Seto became aware that Yugi was approaching him, probably to rub it in his face by offering his unneeded sportsmanship and that garbage deal that he called friendship. And Seto wouldn't allow his pride to sink no lower, and before the midget could even speak a word, Seto began walking away in the direction of the exit of the stadium, drawing the attention of everyone… even the dark arrogant visage of Yami Marik was surprised by Seto Kaiba's silence.

After all, they were expecting Kaiba to begin yelling and denying what had happened, they expected him to make another oath to defeat Yugi once and for all, they expected him to make some smartass remark to Joey now that he had recovered and shown himself to be in an adequate condition to stand and talk, they even somewhat expected him to fall to his knees in despair and ask himself in a pitiful desperation why and how he had lost.

Silence and simply leaving without so much as a look back at them… was the last thing anyone had expected, and it made them wonder just what the CEO of Kaibacorp was thinking right now. And of course, Joey had to open his mouth to break the silence between them.

"Hey, moneybags! Where do you think _you're _going?"

To everyone's steadily increasing surprise, Kaiba didn't even slow down as he walked away at a brisk pace, and his little brother Mokuba looked at him in immediate concern.

'This isn't like him. No matter how many times he failed at anything, he never just stayed silent and walked away like nothing happened. Seto… what is wrong with you?', Mokuba thought to himself, which drew the attention of some of Yugi's friends, most notable Tea, whom had grown somewhat attached to the younger Kaiba brother, and looked towards him in a questioning glance, a growing despair slowly overcoming her as she looked upon the image of Seto Kaiba as old feelings began to reawaken.

Even when she turned to look back to Mokuba, the obvious question easily discernable on her face, when he turned to acknowledge her, the only response Tea received was a blank stare that basically stated that the younger Kaiba knew as much about what was going through Seto's mind as her. And that brought no relief whatsoever to her, and for the first in a long time Tea Gardener began to doubt the stability of her and her friend's lives.

Unknown to her, the demons of her past were preparing to rear their ugly faces once more, and it had everything to do with the boy-practically-man in the white leather duster that was walking away from them.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

'_This is strange… Kaiba has never taken defeat in this manner…'_, rising legend and the current King of Games, World Champion, also known to his friends as Yugi Mouto thought worriedly, and his alter-ego - the ancient spirit of the Millennium Puzzle whom had forgotten his name and has taken to calling himself Yami, or Yami Yugi as Yugi's friends had also nicknamed him - shared his sentiments upon the thought of their recent conquest over the arrogant duelist that took the role as his greatest rival.

'_I barely recall this, but I remember from my past someone very similar to Kaiba, whom I believe might have been Kaiba's past incarnation from my time, he was just like Kaiba in both appearance and even shared a few of the same portions of their personality. And not once, do I ever recall him ever acting in this manner after a loss.' _Yami mentioned to his host and lighter half, which did nothing to alleviate the strange feeling that Yugi felt, a feeling that always predated another life-changing in his life…

It was like the calm before the storm, and it never failed to hit land, as every time Yugi experienced this feeling, some new threat to his life became apparent: the video-tape sent from Pegasus that invited him to Duelist Kingdom, the soaked Mokuba arriving to his home to ask for his help, the meting with Ishizu and the announcement of the Battle City Tournament, each and every time Yugi felt that sinking feeling that something awful was coming his way, like a disaster of a rollercoaster with him along for the ride.

That same feeling now made itself present as Yugi looked upon Seto Kaiba walking away before he could even offer his appraisal of Kaiba's sheer brilliance and tenacity during their duel, which Yugi had to admit was something that he needed to thank Kaiba for.

If it weren't for the hard game that Kaiba presented, Yugi might still have some doubts that he might even stand a chance against Marik, yes… for a long while Yugi still doubted whether or not he could actually defeat Marik, especially in the state that he was now.

The Marik Ishtar that Yugi had prepared to face was crafty, subtle, and insightful, he had watched each and every duel that Yugi had played - seeing as he ultimately possessed the ability to see through the eyes of the slaves that he created with his Millennium Rod, thus making it as if he were right there himself watching Yugi duel - and thus knew a great assortment of Yugi's cards and strategies. There was little that Yugi could have pulled off that wouldn't be expected by the leader of the Rare Hunters, and thus Yugi was at a major disadvantage…

Then the unexpected happened with the fall of the Marik-imposter known as Odion and the revelation of an even darker portion of the wielder of the Millennium Rod, and with his fall into a coma an even more dangerous Marik made his debut: the sick and twisted individual that was the manifestation of all the darkness within Marik's heart, all of his rage and hate, pain and despair, everything that had turned the once innocent grave keeper into a malicious puppet-master.

Unofficially coined as Yami Marik by Yugi's friends - to parallel the surprising pattern of darker halves that wielders of Millennium Items seemed to develop - this side of Marik was a monster the likes of which Yami Yugi hadn't even thought possible. In contrast to the - relatively speaking - 'lighter' half of Marik, whom sought to collect the God Cards and take possession of the Pharaoh's power to rule the world, this Yami Marik had only but one desire: to destroy this world, and banishing each and every soul in it into the dark depths of the Shadow Realm, until this entire world was blanketed by darkness itself.

Despite his resolve and his drive to protect his friends and save the world, Yugi still held a great many doubts that he could meet the expectations that his friends and associates had set for him. Both the sixteen-year old teenage student and the five-thousand-year old Pharaoh held their reservations about whether or not they could meet the tasks set before them, and what would happen to all those that held faith in them should they fail.

However, the duel with Kaiba had erased all of that, because when facing Kaiba… the only way to win was to free yourself of all doubt and hesitation, because if you even allowed yourself to doubt your chances for even a single moment in a duel against an opponent of Seto Kaiba's caliber, the duel was - in all practicality - already over for you.

And with his victory over the formidable ex-World Champion, Yugi and Yami Yugi stood ready for anything that the fiendish Yami Marik would be able to dish out, and with their victory they earned possession of Kaiba's own God Card, Obelisk the Tormentor… a beast so formidable that it ended up pulling a draw in a confrontation with Yugi's own Slifer the Sky Dragon, and with both at his side…

Marik's own God, the supposedly most powerful and quasi-invincible beast that could attain the form of a fiery phoenix that could destroy even another God Card upon it's resurrection.

The Winged Dragon of Ra.

Even as he lamented on that, Yugi turned to look onto the face of his opponent in the Battle City Tournament Finals, his adversary that would face him for the right to take possession of all three Egyptian Gods, the person he would face to determine the fate of the very world itself… and even more surprisingly and worrisome, Yami Marik's attention was not directed towards himself.

No, to Yugi's utter shock that even with the realization that the demented lover of torture would be facing his much-desired opponent, Yami Marik's eyes were focused on the walking figure of Seto Kaiba as he walked away from the stadium that marked his defeat against him.

But what truly set Yugi and his ancient counterpart on edge was the look in Yami Marik's eyes as he walked away: confusion, wariness, disturbance, and… no, the last emotion had to have been a trick of light. There was absolutely no chance whatsoever that Yami Marik, a being who was born from and thrived on the despair of others, a living nightmare and quite possibly terror incarnate, was afraid of Seto Kaiba.

And before Yugi could even bother to contemplate this possible paradox, he suddenly became aware that something very small and fast was heading right towards him, and on pure instinct he barely caught the two cards that had been tossed his way, and looked upon the first one to recognize the blue coloring that was synonymous with the Egyptian God, Obelisk the Tormentor, that Kaiba was now forfeit in an ironic twist by the very rules set for his own tournament.

The second card was completely unexpected, a Spell card that Yugi recognized as being extremely rare and valuable, seeing as he had heard mentions of the card from his grandfather, whom had complained that he had never once managed to get a single set of to sell in his card shop.

Fiend's Sanctuary…

Getting ready to interrogate Kaiba in his sudden strange actions and his unusual behavior, Yugi came no further than looking into the eyes of his rival as he remained standing and facing him after throwing in Yugi's way, the two cards currently held in the possession of his hands.

And both light and dark half froze at what they saw, and suddenly understood the expression of fear that had crossed Yami Marik's face.

Gone were the freezing blue depths that were characteristic of Seto Kaiba's eyes, left instead were two golden-yellow orbs that gleamed within the dark shadow created by Kaiba as he leaned his head forward to shadow the level around his eyes and forehead.

In that one look into Kaiba's eyes, Yugi felt as if has being faced with the fatal stare of the Basilisk of legend that killed with a single gaze; and, deep down Yugi recognized that if Kaiba had the ability to harm people simply by looking at them, Yugi would be nothing more than a rivulet of blood flowing down the sides of Kaiba's duel tower, mere chunks of flesh no larger than to fill a matchbox scattered all over the clothes and skin of his friends.

Every single second that Yugi remained under the piercing stare of Seto's eyes felt like an eternity, and Yugi screamed mentally as he fought to escape the suffocating madness that those eyes seemed to inject into his very soul, and for the life of him Yugi was powerless to break the spell created by Kaiba's monstrous gaze.

For an entire minute Yugi was forced to endure a torture that would make Yami Marik green with envy… or even disgust, if the expression on his face even hinted somewhat as to what was going through that psychopath's mind, and were it not for Yugi's predicament, both he and the Pharaoh would have taken a guilty pleasure in seeing that evil abomination squirm like the leech he truly was, but that was not the case.

Not a single word was issued by everyone, not by Mokuba or Roland, not by Tea or Joey, not by any of Yugi's friends, even the aforementioned Yami Marik remained completely speechless as they also bore witness to the dull-yellow color of Kaiba's eyes that threatened to bring them into the folds of insanity as they stood mesmerized, forced to watch as Kaiba seemed to deliver an unknown message to his better, before turning around and breaking the spell that Kaiba seemed to have created with naught but his own stare. All eyes remained on him as he slowly walked away into the exit of the duel tower's stadium, not once breaking the silence that he seemed to maintain with incomparable zeal.

Upon being freed of the Deathlike-glare, Yugi collapsed to his knees as his friends took a moment to decide if whether or not what they had just seen was reality or a cruel illusion spurned by Fate herself, all of them equally confused and horrified by what they had seen, even Kaiba's little brother Mokuba had been subjected to the effects of his older brother's eyes.

None of the others noticed as Yami Marik silently sped after the elder Kaiba brother, with an expression of livid rage and jealousy upon his visage, most likely having realized just what feeling he had experienced from the defeated teenage CEO, and more than likely wanted to wipe off the incriminating mark on his tarnished record of unrestrained evil, completely unaware that he was lowly walking into a deadly trap of his own making, upon the inception of which… he would not survive.

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Away from all of this, on one island of the many islands reaching over thirty in number that composed the Bonin Islands, while all of this was happening, deep within the confine of one of the islands lay an out-of-place structure that seemed alien to the surrounding tropical jungle surrounding it, especially seeing as the structure looked completely untouched by the passage of time: every single inch of the structure was as pristine as it had been when it was first constructed.

The relatively alien structure was similar to a pyramid in it's design and composition, but lacked a simple design and featured characteristics to suggest it as some sort of temple, thus leaning more towards a ziggurat in it's classification… but no ziggurat was as significantly large as the megastructure that laid right before the very eyes of the observer, this was monument that dwarfed the pyramids of Egypt like a new supermarket shadowed over an old grocery store.

Deep within the confines of this giant megastructure, lied a mind-boggling array of hallways and doors that composed a labyrinth the likes of which were beyond human comprehension, as if one could look at the blueprint of the entire structure they would be utterly stumped, as the design of the mysterious structure seemed to suggest that it was not meant to be entered by conventional means, in fact… there were some levels of the structure that existed without any physical means whatsoever of moving between them: no secret passageways, no hidden tunnels, not even a way to explain how those who constructed this enigma of a structure were even able to breathe with a noted lack of ventilation to the outside…

It was as if someone had magically created and then hollowed out portions of this structure, and even then the question remained: what was it for? Did it exist to honor some God of some forgotten people, was it used as a site for sacrifice for arcane rituals, was it made to entomb a figure whom had attained a divine status? Maybe it was created to house something valuable and ward off intruders?

Or the only other explanation: was it built, rather not to keep people out, but to keep something else, in?

Nevertheless, within this structure laid a single area that was impossible to chart or detect, and it was intentionally done so apparently upon observing the way that the area was designed, which seemed to confirm the latter explanation for the structures intended purpose: there were metallic chains that were too far advanced in design and structure as to be surreal, and locks and mechanisms far beyond the potential capabilities of the people that had to have created this bizarre structure in a remote jungle on an island almost nonexistence in the knowledge of the modern world.

And in this area, if one could look into the antechamber, they would immediately be able to discern that the room stood as a final warning to anyone that would have inexplicably found themselves within this structure, because the doors that lead to whatever lied beyond that room were composed of a sangrian-colored metal that seemed alien in it's composition… and the realization that the door was not completely solid, but rather seemed to be made of an ethereal substance similar in nature to a liquid, making it as if the door were made out of metallic blood.

If one were willing to risk their life and enter the room, they would be shocked to bear witness to a room similar to the one that had originally housed the Millennium Items themselves, except in this room the overall feeling that the room emanated would give the unfortunate individual present that they were being watched by something, yet nothing in the room would suggest an actual being present.

The single most significant part of this apparent tomb took the form of a bizarre rendition of a sarcophagus on the side of the room opposite the entrance, from which strange glowing runes stretched out and apparently covered every square inch of the room, even the floor itself were littered with bizarre runic symbols that ironically themselves were composed of another set of runes, and even those runes were composed of another set… and only God could tell if those runes were nothing more than a combination of even smaller runes themselves.

The sarcophagus itself was designed more for some strange beast than an actual person, as the sarcophagus was almost as large in height to reach the ceiling, and it was wide enough to cover two-thirds of the wall it was displayed on. Upon closer observation, the sarcophagus looked reminiscent in design of some hellish dragon with features that made it look like it had been inspired by a minotaur in it's design, and the yellow eyes of the beast within it's equally disturbing black sclera made it look truly like demonic abomination.

The last thing anyone would have normally seen within the presence of the sarcophagus, before they suffered the deadly horrific fate that all intruders faced upon entering the tomb without permission of it's denizen, was the glowing eyes of the sarcophagus. However, several hundred kilometers from this structure's very location, one Seto Kaiba had taken the first step to an alternate path in destiny from which there was no turning back, and instead of the eyes of the beast merely glowing, they would have died hearing something that transcended any known terror thought possible: a cross between the agonizing wails of thousands of tortured souls, and the bullish roar of a beast that would consume all upon it's release.

The dragon has awakened, and by an unknown means it anxiously watched as the individual that would bring it back it's former glory began his own transformation, the chosen one of this devourer of life, the human known as…

Seto Kaiba.

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And there you have it folks, the first chapter of Wrath of the Dragon is out, I hope you found yourself at least mildly entertained, otherwise you just wasted a small chunk of time from your lifespan, at which I mock you. MOCK YOU!

I can't give a definite as to when the next chapter will come out, only that when it does, prepare to have your pants blown right off your asses, because the next chapter will rock you… rock you, like a hurricane.

And remember this: every time you read and don't review my works, a ferret cries.

And what heartless person would want to make a ferret cry?

Yeah, I'm looking at you, Britney!


	2. Chapter 2

Hello my readers, I've managed to upload the second chapter of Wrath of the Dragon God, and before people begin to ask, I'm going to state a couple of things to save myself the trouble of having to read your messages that could have been answered by doing what I am now, which is precisely why I am here doing the said task to prevent myself from suffering the consequences mentioned, thus I shall now do what I just explained I was going to do for the reason of… ah, never mind that!

First up: what happens in this chapter might have certain rabid fangirls and fan boys crying for my blood while calling a personal foul, but in all honesty I think it's about damn time that what I did happen regularly if at all, I mean… I'm surprised it hasn't been abused and overused. What 'this' is, hehehe… read on to find out.

Second call to order: I have no intentions of setting up a guaranteed schedule as to how often my updates are made, the answer to those types of questions will ultimately be decided by me, using a varying amount of factors and variables in my life, thus it's really hard to explain on paper if and when I might update. So if you notice a sudden streak in updates, chances are you'll be also soon facing an equally significant waiting period, but because it's my life it's up to me to decide, I can't do several things at once… trust me, I'd abuse that right if I had it…

Third and final call to order: I'll be making a change to the whole 'addressing reviews' portion of my updates: I will only respond to reviews if they either: bring up a very important point I wish to discuss, make note of any errors or mistakes in my writing, criticizing [not flaming, there is a difference] my works, and finally making the occasional suggestion/prediction that I find interesting and would like to bring up to the attention of readers.

The reason for that, is because I don't want to 'cheat' my way into getting more words into my updated chapters by doing random things like replying to reviews or bringing up a rant that belongs on my profile, I'm going to try to be more honest so as to create a greater appeal to my audience. Thus, you might notice shortened chapters or lack of responses to reviews, the former would be explained by what I just said, and the latter would suggest hat I simply need more reviews that fit the mentioned criteria for me to take my time in responding towards, otherwise anything else would mean that you're just cursed with a bad computer/internet and have my condolences.

Now, let's start the insanity!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, nor the characters of Yugioh, and I deny any right to that which is the property of the Yugioh anime/manga/trading card game, they are the properties of their respective owners/creators, and I claim nothing other than the usage of the words in this story that are not copyrighted in the order that pertains to this story.

Private Disclaimer: What? A disclaimer? You're looking in the wrong area, bub! That's the guy from last week! This week it's the flame and spam store, half off any trolling super-packs!

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Not even completely aware of where he seemed to be heading, Seto found himself walking from the base of the Duel Tower back onto the blimp, his outer mind working on automatic pilot as the inner mind began to question and doubt many of the things that Seto had taken for granted in life, in particular: his social standing. For most individuals that were famous like Seto, they cared very little in their own opinion of the public yet at the same time cared very much of the public's opinion of them, and Seto was no different.

Even when he and Mokuba were still living with Gozaburo Kaiba, their [thankfully] departed stepfather, Seto was forced to learn the art of wearing a 'mask', and not the type of emotional mask that Seto usually found himself wearing the majority of his time that he only took off in privacy. While it was more familiar to those whom knew Seto casually like Yugi and his friends that Seto wore a mask of emotions, and which he kept on himself at almost all times, which functioned so as to avoid showing weakness to others that his enemies might be able to exploit and use it against him; unknown to them, he was also forced to wear a different kind of mask: the mask of an important figure of Japan and the expectations that came along with it, and it was this combined with his already hectic life that made Seto spiritually exhausted.

As if it simply wasn't hard enough to deal with being the CEO of Kaibacorp, a gaming company in a class of it's own whose peers sought to bring down with any chance they could get and whom was composed of many incompetent workers that often backtracked their work by several months if they were lucky. But no, Seto Kaiba was also renown for his involvement in his passion that was Duel Monsters, and ironically his passion for Duel Monsters and his rise and fall in the position of World Champion was what condemned him.

Were he just a normal, well… if you could call someone of his age running a company as well as he did normal, CEO that invested in holographic technology and virtual software and hardware, Seto might have found life a bit easier to deal with… but because he himself was a duelist of extraordinary skill, it gave the media a figurehead upon which to lock their attention on. Even now, as he was thinking, people were already aware that he had lost, and were ready to shove their microphones and cameras into his face before overwhelming him with a barrage of questions that he'd rather not answer then, if ever, and it infuriated Seto so much that his fist, which he had held in a fist for quite some time, was turning purple from lack of circulation, showing just how long he had been holding all his stress in.

"Damn vultures, if it weren't for them and their pathetic need to scout out, isolate, and then glorify each and every single one of my failures and mistakes, I might actually have a social life… I might actually be with one of them… but of course, it's my fate to suffer.", and Seto's words were having an impact on the woman that had been quietly following him.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Unknown to him, and for reasons Ishizu couldn't explain… she felt that somehow this was her fault.

_'This entire time… I was so focused on the Pharaoh and the conflict between him and my brother Marik, I completely neglected my priorities with Seto, to pay attention to… my boyfriend.'_, Ishizu could only sigh at that depressing thought. After their first meeting, when Ishizu tried to convince Seto about the connections of his past and present and later 'lent' him Obelisk the Tormentor, Seto once again scheduled another meeting between themselves, originally because Seto wanted to learn more about the powers and abilities of his Egyptian God Card, as well as what she knew about the other two.

After the second meeting came a third, and so on and so forth, and soon the meanings behind the meetings themselves shifted, as both found they possessed common interests and priorities, especially seeing as both could relate to having a little brother, and just how far one of them would go for their sake. Eventually, Seto swallowed his fear and ignored his still-fresh heartache, and made the leap to see if they could make something of themselves, and for a while: Ishizu was happy, even with the imminent danger that was rising, she could honestly admit that she felt something for Seto.

She had even planned on staying here in Japan with her current job, so as to not only give her brother and Odion the chance at having a somewhat normal life, but also so that she could stay with Seto… then things went horribly wrong. _'I should have never brought up the Pharaoh on our last date… I could tell that he was honestly thinking about us… and my focus on the Pharaoh must have seriously hurt his feelings. I knew from our talks how much he preferred to avoid the mere mention subject of his archrival unless he specifically brought it up, but I had to zone out… and one Freudian Slip was all it took.'_

After that night, Seto and Ishizu didn't talk at all, and before she could even attempt to make a proper apology to him, the Battle City Tournament had arrived on their doorstep, and they both went their own separate ways… he doing his own thing like Seto usually did, and she secretly also making her way to the tier of the eight finalists. Seto's shock at seeing her as the eight finalist might have only added to the damage: she could have told him outright that she was participating before, even though he simply assumed she would remain a mere spectator, and instead she snuck out behind his back and inadvertently betrayed his trust.

The biggest mistake was more than likely her actions in their time on the blimp leading up to their semi-final match, as Ishizu was too preoccupied with her brother Marik and Odion's attempt to be his imposter, and then Odion's collapse and Marik's inner-evil taking him over, and not once did the thought of Seto even cross her mind. And more than likely the exact opposite held true for Seto, Ishizu knew almost instinctively that she had been at the forefront of all his thoughts in their time on the blimp, and she knew also that he was wondering why she didn't try to seek him out, to even once try to explain her actions.

By the time their duel had been announced, Seto had more than likely had enough, and he gave her one final test: to see how exactly she reacted when he 'recognized' her, a ploy that everyone else had fallen for. While he pretended to behave as if she were nothing more than the woman whom gave him his Egyptian God card, he was in truth testing her, to see if she would try to reach out to him, try to avoid the duel entirely, to do something that would suggest she had his best interests at heart…

And she never once gave that indication, so caught up in saving her brother from his madness, she never once thought to consider her boyfriend's own sadness, and she had not even bothered to lower the significance of the Pharaoh's announcement when he himself verbally recognized her, which might have gave the impression that Ishizu was more interested in the Pharaoh than in Seto.

Thus, the shock that came with her loss against Seto and the failure of her Millennium Necklace's ability to predict their duel's outcome came not from just the loss and failure, rather Ishizu suddenly remembered just who she had dueled and lost to: Seto Kaiba, her boyfriend… whom she had dueled without even truly recognizing or acknowledging, and upon realizing that she had failed his final test… she understood that her loss was greater than the simple chance to save her brother.

By failing to meet Seto's desperate attempts to see if she still cared for him, she had inadvertently terminated their relationship, and in a way… she had dumped him for the Pharaoh, even if that wasn't the actual case.

And Ishizu now looked at the bitter man that Seto was right now, with the glimpse of his deathly-yellow eyes that held more hate within than Marik ever had, and her own eyes began to tear at realizing that the dark angry man before her was her boyfriend, and that she could have saved Seto Kaiba… and she did not, she could do nothing but… but…

_'But nothing! I don't care if Seto chews me out, even if he deserves it, I'm going to reach out to him, Seto's in the darkness like Marik is, and unlike with my brother's descent which I could do nothing about, this however wasn't beyond my control… and it's time I correct that mistake.'_, Ishizu drew in a deep breath and she prepared herself to approach Seto, and nearly gasped when someone beat her to the punch.

"Well, well, well, looks like someone's having a bad day..."

Her own brother was confronting Seto…

"You picked the wrong time to play boogeyman, Ishtar…"

And a sudden foreboding feeling made her feel worry…

Not just for Seto…

But her brother as well…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

It was impossible!

No, it was simply a hallucination!

Yes!

That was it!

It was all a trick of the light!

It had to be!

There was no way, that Seto Kaiba, of all people, would be able to coerce a feeling of aversion, a feeling of caution, a feeling of fear, within someone like himself, he, whom was the embodiment of fear itself, he was fear itself!

Marik Ishtar, or to be more precise, the darkness in Marik that had attained it's own personality and agenda, and whom had taken over the host body and cast out the original personality of Marik, was now chastising himself as he followed after Seto like a madman possessed, which wasn't really too far off the mark in this case.

This was something completely unexpected for Yami Marik, as in his opinion Seto Kaiba was pretty much insignificant, while he did possess the pain and despair like Marik did that could have created something like… himself, Seto never seemed to find the right trigger, or he lacked the drive to allow himself to be swallowed by darkness in his heart, or maybe it was simply his light-oriented energy that made the jump impossible. In the end it didn't matter, as all Yami Marik was concerned about was defeating the Pharaoh and bathing the world in darkness.

Then, from out of the blue Seto seemingly snaps from his loss to little Yugi, and gives the weak-hearted possessor of the Millennium Puzzle a stare that had set him on edge, him! And Seto Kaiba wasn't even looking at Yami Marik, and yet he felt threatened by that stare… and that was something that he would not stand for. In Yami Marik's future world of darkness, he could not feel fear and could not afford to, and Seto Kaiba was now an immediate threat to that vision, and thus something had to be done about Seto Kaiba. Upon spotting the obnoxiously-white duster of the elder Kaiba brother, Marik started off his normal routine of terror by emphasizing on Kaiba's immediate issue.

"Well, well, well, looks like someone's having a bad day…"

It was time, having, finally caught him and cornered him, or so he believed, until Yami Marik spotted his 'sister' not too far away, which made Yami Marik smirk in his sick, malicious amusement, praising himself for now being able to take care of both Seto and Ishizu. _'And, what's this? Is that heartache I sense coming from my sister? Does Ishizu actually love this pitiful fleshbag?'_

Looking back between Seto and Ishizu, setting the latter on edge for fear of being spotted by Seto before she could properly speak, Yami Marik nonchalantly asked, "Trouble in paradise? I'd recommend a healthy dose of darkness after a humiliating loss and a distressful heartbreak.", before he went off cackling madly, as even though he didn't exactly know what had occurred between Ishizu and Seto, Yami Marik could still use that insinuation to either agitate him or to provoke him into attacking him, either way with the Millennium Rod in his possession, Yami Marik was nigh untouchable.

The response given by Seto was also not what he was expecting, "You picked the wrong time to play boogeyman, Ishtar. I suggest you go up and prepare for your final duel with Yugi, otherwise this will be your final conversation with me, if you catch my drift…"

Now Yami Marik was pissed, no scratch that: he was borderline homicidal right now, how dare Seto talk down to him like that, he would learn exactly happened to those that challenged him! Pulling out his powerful Millennium Rod, Marik prepared to use it's powers on the infidel…

It would be Yami Marik's overconfidence that would lead to his undoing…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Well, well, well, looks like someone's having a bad day…"

Oh, this was just great, for Seto had just suffered a loss from his archrival, and he was going over the bitter heartbreak that Ishizu's ignorance of him had brought him, and in both cases the person hadn't even been fully focused on him. No, both his rival and his gi… ex-girlfriend had been preoccupied with the individual that was now attempting to rile him up, and secretly to himself, Seto decided that Yami Marik would serve as a proper outlet for his emotions.

"Trouble in paradise? I'd recommend a healthy dose of darkness after a humiliating loss and a distressful heartbreak."

Now that was slightly unexpected and strange, because as far as anyone knew about his relationship problems… well, that was simply it: nobody other than himself and the individuals whom he had shared relationships with, were actually aware that he had them in the first place. Then, putting that along with the strange glances that Yami Marik kept shooting to a spot behind himself, Seto deducted that Ishizu was behind him, and figured the rest for himself… and chose to pretend she wasn't there. Just like Ishizu did to him, Seto wouldn't giver her the attention she wanted.

"You picked the wrong time to play boogeyman, Ishtar. I suggest you go up and prepare for your final duel with Yugi, otherwise this will be your final conversation with me, if you catch my drift…"

Once again something seemed to possess Seto, as he no longer became fully aware of what was spoken or what was done, and upon looking at the Millennium Rod that Yami Marik pulled out, a dark and very malicious idea began to sprout and take root, and the more he thought about it, the more deliciously ironic it sounded, and thus… Seto suddenly grabbed the Millennium Rod.

And then watched as the ancient magic within the Rod began to recognize the aura of it's original owner's reincarnated aura, even with it's changing alignment the Rod still recognized Seto as it's true owner, hence why it originally assisted him in defying the prediction made by the Millennium Necklace in Seto's due with Ishizu. Even though Marik had laid claim to it, in truth the Rod was only using Marik to attempt in some way to reunite with it's true owner's reincarnation: Seto Kaiba.

Taking great pleasure in the growing uncharacteristic fear that slowly began to consume Marik's visage, Seto then chuckled and replied, "If you believe in that hocus-pocus magic, then you wouldn't mind me claiming what is 'rightfully' mine? After all, my 'past self' possessed this Item, and I think it's only fair that I get to keep it. Oh yes, and by the way Marik… I wasn't joking when I said, this would be our last conversation."

Holding up the Rod to Yami Mari's face, which beheld utter shock and terror at just had quickly and badly the tables had turned, Seto leered at the pitiful fool Marik became without his precious Millennium Rod to back him up, and lastly said, "Sorry, I'd let you say your parting words, but like you said: I'm having a bad day." And instinctually Seto activated the power of the Millennium Rod, banishing Yami Marik to the very depths of the abyss that were the Shadow Realm, unknowingly freeing the minds and spirits of all those that both Marik and Yami Marik had sent there by his own usurping of Yami Marik as the Rod's wielder.

And right before Seto and Ishizu, the visage of Marik changed as his hair returned to it's normal state and size, with the glowing eye of wdjat disappearing, and finally his appearance looking generally more calm and serene, and looking up to both of them as Ishizu silently stepped up next to Seto, Marik weakly replied, "Thank… you…", before collapsing from exhaustion.

And even though Ishizu was glad to have her brother back to normal, she had to wonder a she looked upon Seto as he quietly whistled a funeral dirge on the way to his room, if she had merely replaced one monster in her life… for another…

~~~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~

Hahaha! The second chapter has been completed!

I bet you weren't expecting this kind of reaction from Seto, and most definitely Yami Marik getting beaten at his own game, but this is what you will come to expect from me as you read more of this story!

I'd say more, but it's getting late and I'm tired, so I'm gonna hit the hay…

Until next time!

And remember: read and review!


	3. Chapter 3

Well here's another grand addition to my tale, as while I had left this story on a standby, I have gotten enough plotting done to make even brain-dead monkeys and vegetables cry in appreciation of the many things I have planned for this story.

Now, to let you guys know, I already have a new set of monsters that will head this series: the Kaiju. If you've ever watched even one Godzilla movie, or at least know to connect my mentioning Godzilla to Kaiju, then you will know that I intend to borrow the monsters from Toho to make the series of monsters known as the Kaiju. No worries, I will mention in the disclaimer that I don't own anything of Toho's either, so nobody gets hurt.

To give you an idea of what the Kaijus are like, imagine a time when monsters equal to or stronger than the Egyptian Gods fought and clashed on this very planet, and they were simply too powerful to let any being control, as even one could possibly spell ruin for the Earth. I mean, imagine what Godzilla could do if unleashed on this world, and without the inexplicable amounts of money we won't be seeing the masers, Super X's, or Mecha-G's and Moguera's that give humanity a chance against the rampage of the radiation-breathing nuclear dinosaur.

Among the Kaiju's will be three Tier's of Kaiju:Tier 3, Tier 2, and Tier 1. And there will be certain limits to the amount of Kaiju a certain person can have.

A Kaiju on Tier 3 would be roughly as powerful as one of the Egyptian Gods, and like the Egyptian Gods and other such comparable monsters, Tier 3 Kaiju require three monsters to sacrifice as tributes. They have varying effects that will for the most part relate to either a type of dueling style or a specific monster type or attribute. They have similar protection effects to certain card effects like the Egyptian Gods, but for the most part the actual effects varied to certain lengths. A single duelist is allowed only three Tier 3 Kaijus in their deck, as any more would disrupt the sealing powers that restricted them, and would lead to turmoil that could threaten the life of the very card-holders themselves.

A Kaiju on Tier 2 is unlike those on Tier 3, as they simply dwarf even The Winged Dragon of Ra in sheer power, and would be too powerful for even Ra's Phoenix Mode to be able to destroy with it's destruction effect. These beasts are so powerful that they require four monsters as tributes to be able to be summoned, and having just one in your deck prevented you from holding any Kaiju other than a Tier 3 Kaiju, seeing as they were strong enough to rival two Tier 3 Kaiju at once, and thus took the place of two possible positions for Tier 3 Kaiju in a player's deck.

And last but most certainly not least, come the Tier 1 Kaiju, an extremely exclusive group that for the moment only contains two Kaiju, and both are so mighty that they require a grand total of five monster tributes to be able to summon them to one's field, they were so immensely powerful. Simply having it on your field guarantees one victory in almost the literal sense, as not only are they completely immune to effects that would otherwise destroy or remove them, they possessed the ability to revive themselves when destroyed upon the off chance that they were defeated in battle.

A Tier 1 Kaiju was so frighteningly powerful, that it can prevent external forces from deciding the victories of matches, so that not only could the fates ands deities not interfere with them, but forces like Exodia and Destiny Board would become stopped dead in their tracks by either of the Tier 1 Kaiju. I could go on, but I'd like to keep as much about their powers secret as possible until their very unveiling.

You can obviously deduce from the way I changed Seto's personality, that he will be the centerfold of this story, and he will have one of the two Tier-1 Kaiju. The other will go to the person you expect it most likely to go to, but at the same time it will not go to that _particular _individual.

Seeing as I'm a fan of all the bad guys and some anti-heros having their own groups to do stuff together, I'm going to do the same with Seto, as he will have his own organization to do stuff, primarily with tracking down and recruiting the other duelists chosen by the Kaiju.

Oh yeah, did I mention that the Kaiju work differently than the Egyptian Gods and other such beings of great might?

The Kaiju monsters, being sealed originally with the purpose of preventing them from EVER being used, were forced into these strange and mysterious structures like the one introduced in the first chapter. Instead of being the source of inspiration for a set of cards like with Pegasus and the Egyptian God Cards, the Kaiju will literally manifest themselves in card form, not unlike the Three Legendary Dragons from the Waking the Dragons Arc, or at least that's what it's called over here in the America's.

You know, Orichalchos, lime long-haired heterochromatic Sephiroth wannabe, biker punks that had the powers of Australian accents, mary-sueish emo past stories, and the inexplicable ability to defeat Yami Yugi/Atem in a fucking duel, and to top it all off, the Divine Serpent, the first monster I've seen to have Infinite Attack points normally… take that Obelisk! :3

Anyways, they'll appear in this story, but Seto will not be one of the Legendary Chosen Three, as Seto's destined Kaiju will not share it's chosen one with other mythic beings, so no Critias for Seto. Sorry Doom Virus Dragon, Blue Eyes Tyrant Dragon, and Mirror Force Dragon, no appearances for you. But you'll get someone just as good, someone whom should have been given a recurrent role in the series following his appearance, although the geniuses in my audience will be able to read the harem situation and figure out who it's gonna be.

As for unique cards, I believe that not only will I introduce the concept of Synchro Summons into this story (this won't become a bad rendition of Yugioh 5Ds, which I have to admit is not as bad as most claim it to be, at least the main character has the typical funky protagonist haircut of a Yugioh series), but I will be introducing my own brainchild: Trinity Monsters. I'll leave it up to you to imagine how they might work, and what monsters might relate into this idea of mine. Any suggestions should be added in the reviews section, as my stories need more reviews!

Some of the things that I will do will not be too much of a surprise, a few will manage to catch you off guard and startle you, and a select rare number will manage to hit you right between your eyes without you able to prepare, as while I don't own anything, the story itself is my creation, and I don't do anything half-assed.

Okay, I've kept you kids waiting long enough, onto the story!

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Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or Godzilla and it's fellow monsters owned by Toho, and if anyone says otherwise, I'll stick this in your face and then make you beg like a dog for forgiveness… or a camel, cause I have many more ways to torture a camel than a dog. Don't ask why, I just do.

Private Disclaimer: I do not hold any responsibility for any hope for certain shippings in this story of mine, because Seto is getting a harem, and if one of the women you didn't want to be part of the harem was selected, then I'm sorry… you'll have to ship someone else with your 'heartbroken' character.

And Yugi will not be paired with Seto, nor will Joey be paired with him.

That's right Yaoi fan girls, I watching you! Flame me all you want, I have the ability of Amaterasu to protect me from your flames, as I paid canon-Madara five bucks and a twinky to use his magical hax0ring powers to fuck over reality and give me that ability, which he copied and stole from the prick that is canon-Sasuke. No offense intended for any fiction-Sasukes that aren't dicks or manage to remain decent people.

~~~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~

"What is taking him so long?"

The universal question was being asked by everyone on Kaibacorp Island, having been informed that Seto had suddenly taken a turn for the crazy and deciding to active the self-destruct mechanism of the island, in what some might assume to be his attempt to bury the past, and to others, another example of a rich guy having a temper tantrum, as only Seto Kaiba could afford to take an island worth millions, maybe even billions of American dollars, and blow it up at a whim, without even denting his vast fortune and monetary resources.

What made it all the more confusing was that Mokuba himself was looking around for his brother, as at one moment he was right beside his brother, the next he had disappeared faster than food on a plate did in front of Joey.

The former situation was something that was very characteristic of someone possessing Kaiba's ego, but the latter struck them with a strange sense of disaster on the approach: Kaiba would never leave his brother possibly unattended and accounted for, and it was only by coaxing from Tea that Mokuba had relented to looking around for his brother with Yugi and his friends, versus wandering off on his own.

To Yugi and his Yami spirit, something strange was happening with the elder Kaiba brother, and it had all started with his loss on the top of his Duel Tower.

'_Pharaoh, is it just me, or does all these weird things that are happening connected to Kaiba?'_, the innocent teenage Yugi Mutou asked his ancient counterpart through their connection using the Millenium Puzzle around his neck, and the spirit himself was doing some similar thinking of his own.

'_Yes, could you even manage to believe that Kaiba actually managed to subdue Marik's darker half and actually take control of the Millenium Rod, and then to turn it on Marik's darker half?'_, was the concerned thought of the over 5,000 year old ruler of ancient Egypt, and for once something concerned himself even more than anything affecting Yugi or his friends.

WWWWWWWWW ( Earlier ) WWWWWWWWW

When Yugi waited out on the top of the Duel Tower for his final match against Marik, he had many thoughts running through his mind and many possible ideas of what would happen as he waited for Marik to arrive.

And that was just it, he kept waiting out there on the Duel Tower, and waiting, and waiting some more for Marik to arrive, and not only did he and his friends seemed puzzled, even Rowland - whom presided over the duels and privately to himself actually expected some duel to end all duels from Yugi and Marik - was unable to discern just what was going on.

It was the final match between Yugi and Marik, the conclusion of the grandest Duel Monster tournament since Duelist Kingdom, and to Yugi and his friends, the inevitable clash between Yugi and the Pharaoh against the purely evil and cynical spirit that had possessed and dismissed Marim Ishtar and took control of his body.

A duel that was supposed to decide the fate of the world, and the ultimate villain was nowhere in sight.

To Rowland's own disbelief, after Marik failed to show up and bypassed the time limit allotted for someone to delay their match, Rowland had no choice but to call a forfeit to Yugi as the winner due to Marik's lateness.

And that was quite possibly the most frightening thing anyone could have expected that involved Marik: why would Marik go to such lengths to meet the Pharaoh in a duel for the fate of the world, only to not show up when the actual duel was to happen.

And if something had happened to Marik that had stopped someone like him, then Osiris help them all.

Following the stupor created by the most anti-climatic victory in Yugi's entire dueling career, what could only be described as a stampede to locate Marik, and get to the bottom of this mystery. What shocked everyone even more than Marik's unintentional surrender, was the apparent awakening of Mai, which Joey became a giddy little puppy upon seeing, much to Mai's chagrin.

To her, one second she was being tormented by Marik, then her tormentor was drawn from her torture by some strange figure of pure white-skin in a black trench-coat that eerily reminded her of Kaiba's, and for a second Mai believed that it was Kaiba here to save her. She had then been ready to succumb to insanity then and there, because she knew that was the single most unlikely event to ever happen for her, and the reason had nothing to do with Kaiba's lack of concern for others…

And then for her to suddenly awake to a commotion outside her room, and find herself in the midst of a Yugi and friends glomp-sandwich, and to learn that she had actually been sent to the Shadow Realm that Marik often ranted about, and as much as she wanted to deny the hocus-pocus magic that Yugi often rambled about, the experiences that she had felt in her… sleep, had been too nightmarish to be anything of natural origin.

At first, the idea of being left alone by Joey, the boy whom many believed she held a flame for, but in truth saw as nothing but a little baby brother to tease and annoy, and all of his friends in the illusions Marik conjured had hurt her, half in fault due to her own fears and beliefs that friendship afforded nothing but pain and weakness, which in this case was being given substantial proof, and the other half because she was just finally managing to open her heart after the darkness of her past had locked it tight.

That was only the beginning, as Marik delved deeper into her fears and phobias, tormenting her with the fears of being killed or raped, that while had never happened or would happen nevertheless haunted her, and then she brought out the cruel past with her family, of which she had made sure that nobody would ever learn of.

But the worst part came when Mai was forced to relieve the single romantic relationship she held with a brunette-haired teenager, the sole one in her whole life, and in secret they held what she had considered a taboo relationship, and had finally ended it in what she felt was necessary to allow them a chance to live normal lives. Marik's sadist nature knew no bounds, as he preyed upon this particular portion of her heart, forcing her to relieve every part of that relationship: the good parts, the bad parts, the parts that - were she not being tormented beyond description, would have felt embarrassed upon seeing something so, so raunchy - and finally the breakup that she initiated, and regretted every waking moment of her life.

This affected Mai in ways nothing else ever could, not only because she thought of what she could have had with him, but because she also knew that her actions had turned him into a cold-hearted man that could care less for the well being of others, a monster of her own creation.

And those were Marik's last attempts to break Mai with, before the connection was severed, and Mai began to experience illusions where the man she had broken became a monster that eventually destroyed everything around him, and taking the lives of all that he might have once called dear to him, and she was there to witness it all, because she was the one to have started the chain reaction.

To suddenly wake up from that, to normalcy, was not just unsettling, it was only hurting her ability to cope with what she had experienced, and it was taking all she had not to have a mental breakdown after listening to Joey's seventh attempt to see if she was fine, because she wasn't and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. The only way she could ever hope to feel better, was if she reassured herself that her actions did not create a monster, all she wanted to do was get back what she had lost, the little innocence she possessed taken from her by Marik's mental manipulations, and thus the only thing she could get back was the one man that she had broken… the one whom might actually understand her, unbeknownst to him.

So while Mai was quietly contemplating the slightly abnormal plans for the future, the gang was searching around the island for any sign of Marik, and eventually their search led them to the blimp that had brought them here in the first place. Upon searching for Marik, they were shocked to meet Seto Kaiba passing by them in the halls, not even stopping to make a comment or an insult to any of them.

The strange change of Kaiba's crystal-blue eyes to a golden yellow startled Mai for reasons beyond the mere shock value at seeing something that radical happen, and everyone else was disturbed upon seeing the Millenium Rod being twirled around in Seto's hand like a baton in a playful manner, only added to by the fact he was whistling. Whistling.

The fact that Kaiba never whistled? Creepy.

The fact that Kaiba was whistling the funeral dirge? Scary.

The fact that Kaiba was doing all of this, and wearing the biggest and darkest expression of elation they had ever seen on his face? Permission to abandon ship?

Going crazy from all the insane events happening today, the gang finally found Marik in the company of Ishizu and Odion, being attended to… and not at all under the influence of darkness, as it had been stripped from him by something else, something powerful enough to weaken and even defeat a being as powerful as Yami Marik.

Upon realizing that something had happened that they were not privy to, the gang learned not only of Seto's actions, but also of the relationship she had, and while everyone had slightly different thoughts, they knew that this was just the start of something far worse than Marik.

For Mai, her thoughts drifted from the conversation in Marik's room to her nightmarish torture, and things were falling apart just as she feared, and she knew that she had to act quickly, lest it be too late.

And then she inexplicably felt sick to her stomach, quite literally.

Mai had never run faster in her life than when she ran to the nearby lavatory, and emptied what little of the contents of her stomach she still had before being taken into the Shadow Realm. To the question of many, she simply replied.

"I'm not feeling well, and I haven't eaten ever since my duel with Marik. I want something to eat."

That seemed all good and well, until they asked what she wanted, and she replied:

"A triple-layered cheeseburger with barbeque sauce, a side order of salmon and French toast covered in mustard, a chocolate shake with mint chips sprayed with mayonaise, and a bagel coated completely in ketchup."

The day had taken a turn for a completely different kind of weird, as Mai's demands for sustenance were simply bizarre, she wanted her food covered in ketchup, mustard, mayonaise, and barbeque sauce, and that half of those sauces didn't even go along with the foods she included them with?

Mai's reaction was different.

'_I hate chocolate! I detest fish! And I abhor mustard! What the hell is wrong with me, what is with these weird cravi-'_, only to stop herself, turning almost as white as a ghost, before running off to her room, not to be seen again for the rest of the day.

WWWWWWWWW ( Present Time ) WWWWWWWWW

"Hey Yugi, we're almost out of time! Forget about Kaiba and get on the blimp!", was the indignant shout Joey gave to Yugi before the young King of Games snapped out of his stupor, and suddenly remembered that he was standing on an island that was about to explode, as in the 'you're about to become vapor if you don't get off this very instant!' kind of explosion.

Luckily, Tristan, Duke, and Odion surprisingly knew enough about engines and mechanics to get the engines fixed, as otherwise they might have been stuck on the island and be forced to share it's unfortunate fate.

Getting on board the blimp, as it needed more time to get a safe distance from the island than the nearby helicopter, Yugi swore he heard a jet taking off, but either reasoned it to be his imagination, or Kaiba just getting off the island by himself: he didn't seem very welcoming as of recent, and that was comparing him to how they used to get treated by him.

Too bad for Yugi and his friends, someone was missing from the blimp that was not accounted for, someone whom had not left her room until hearing about Kaiba going off on his own.

A certain blonde woman had slipped past everyone in the commotion, and was currently heading in a different direction than the others, in a completely different vehicle.

With a certain brunette male.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The golden-yellow eyes of Kaiba that only a little while ago held a malicious glee from his 'attack' on Marik now held a look of frustration, anxiety, and… uncertainty?

Having taken off in his jet, shaped like a Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Kaiba sighed as he allowed the autopilot to engage with the destination of Kaibacorp, because right now there was something he needed to do. It had nothing to do with the fact that he wanted to get revenge on Yugi for his humiliation, or plans for new venues for Kaibacorp to take on, or even on his little brother Mokuba.

Glancing around to watch the sleeping blonde form of Mai Valentine in the back seat of the jet's cockpit, Seto had wondered if the drama would never end for him, and that ironically enough the fate that Mai had constantly warned about in regards to their affair, which they had engaged in when he was only 13, had inadvertently come true, but not in the way they had expected.

Glaring into the object and the source of Seto's foul mood, was a typical home pregnancy test, and it confirmed positive. He could only imagine the voice of the doctor giving him the 'wonderful news.'

'_Congratulations Mr. Kaiba, you're going to be a __**father!**__'_

~~~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~X~~~~~

Didn't see that one coming, did ya?

Hahahaha, I can only imagine just how much people must be freaking out, especially the Polarshipping fans, but I bet the Arrogantshipping fans in turn have claimed me as their new messiah or something.

I already had this planned out from the start, because Mai is the perfect female character right now to balance out Kaiba until the harem enters full-express, and because of the slight differences that occurred in my universe, she won't go running off with Orichalchos-wielding wombat boys with the bad voice impression of Steve Irwin, but she will still maintain her darker attitude that appears in the Waking the Dragons Saga, otherwise known as the Doma Arc. Well, I'm tired, after updating my Incubus Naruto to the site and then finishing this. Well I'll see you guys later.

**AvatarofDeath13, over and out!**


End file.
